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Lessons on Fasting, Taraweeh & Zakaat

by Muhammad Bin Salih Al-Uthaymeen
Translated by Abu Maryam Islmaeel Alarcon Lessons on Fasting, Taraweeh & zakaat: contains numerous beneficial points. Itis divided up into eight sections, which were designed to serve as lessons on distinct topics commonly talked about during the month of Ramadan.

The Nature Of Fasting

The Nature Of Fasting: This book will help the reader better understand the fine points about fasting. like; What is the nature of the things that break the fast? What are the rules by which one can know the difference between what breaks the fast and what does not

Concearning Taraweeh

….due to a lack of understanding of what is permissible in the Taraweeh and what is not, the prayer may even become a matter of tension; differences become apparent and views are expressed. Personal ideologies start to interfere with the general benefit of the people, and thus, the whole purpose of the prayer is destroyed.

So we deemed it to be in best interest to publish this small but extremely beneficial treatise, as a series of fataawah by our late beloved sheikh, Sheikh Abdul-Azeez bin Baaz, may Allah raise him amongst the prophets and righteous. This treatise clearly demonstrates his wisdom in dealing with affairs which may be points of dispute in the Taraaweeh. He sheds light upon many issues in respect to their permissibility, and one may even find that some issues have much more flexibility than is perceived.

Essentials of Ramadan

by Tajuddin B. ShuaibThis is an in-depth resume of the essential rules and laws on the Fiqh of fasting designed to provide the reader with explanation for both spiritual and physical significance and uniqueness of this remarkable act of worship. Sheikh Shu`aib clarifies major point on fasting. His focus is relevance of this divine discipline on to the life and living as well as the interpretation of related text on Fasting based on Al-Qur`an and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saas). This book serves as a guide and reference on courses on Islamic studies.

Laylatul Qadr – Night of Decree

Laylatul Qadr – Night of Decree: it is a night that is better than 1000 months! What are the merits of this night? How did the prophet prepared for this night? Which night is exactly this night? And, many others questions that will be answered in this lecture.

Benefits of Ramadan

By Ali At-Timimi (May Allah hasten his release from prison..ameen).
In the month of Ramadaan it is very important that we spent a few moments to understand some of the wisdoms and lessons that we can learn from this month of fasting. Unfortunately, many Muslims come in to this month and they are as a companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Let it not be that the day that you fast and the day that you break fast be equal.”

Eating Habits in Ramadan

By Kamal El-Mekki
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, “Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer’s sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all.” [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]

The Muhaddith of Egypt, al-‘allaamah Ahmad Muhammad Shaakir, may Allaah have mercy upon him

The month of Ramadaan has almost approached you – the month of fasting, the month of worship, the month of the elevation of the soul and its purification.

You may reach tomorrow morning as fasting people – have you made the necessary preparations for meeting it? Have you taken yourselves into account, counting the good you have done, praising Allah for it and asking Him to increase upon it, or the evil you have done so that you can be sorry for it and repent to Allaah and seek His forgiveness from it and asking Him to protect you from returning to it?

This is how the month of Ramadaan is to be received. I fear that many people understand that Ramadan is to be received with official celebrations; preparing for excellence in food and drink; preparing different kinds of cuisine and drink; preparing different types of games and amusement for the late evenings and not thinking beyond this!

O respected people! Allaah has legislated fasting for you as a purification of your souls and as a means of protection for the soul against the tyranny of the body and its desires – He did not legislate it solely that you taste the pangs of hunger and thirst of drink. For this reason the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam said, “Whoever does not give up lying speech (false statements) and acting on those lies and evil actions, etc., Allaah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink.” [al-Bukhaari: 1903].

Allaah prescribed upon us fasting the day of Ramadaan and standing its night; He made it a month of worship with remembrance of Allaah, recitation of the Qur’aan and frequent prayer – especially the night prayer, the reward for which He has made the greatest reward.

And in the authentic hadeeth on the authority of the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “Every action of the son of Aadam is multiplied – a good deed is worth tenfold to 700 times its value. Allaah says, ‘Except for fasting, which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it. [the son of Aadam] leaves their desires and subsistence for my sake’. There are two pleasures for the person observing the fast – one at the time of breaking the fast and the other at the time when he will meet his lord. And the breath of the fasting person is sweeter smelling for Allaah than the fragrance of musk.” [Muslim: 1151].

O respected people, indeed I see many of that which we have taken as customs during fasting that negates its reality – rather that which diminishes its reward – rather that which increases an individual in sin. We have understood the standing of the night [qiyyaam al-layl] to be staying awake at night. We have begun spending our evenings in cafes, not thinking about anything other than amusement and games until very late at night. Then we eat whatever we wish to eat and awaken exhausted and tired – our chests tightened, our senses muddled and our manners ill to the extent that two people will not talk except that anger is flared up, turmoil ensues and coarse language follows – as is what you see the case being. You all know as you may excuse your companion as he is fasting. And I do not make anyone an exception to this – except those who Allaah has protected.

So look, ponder and compare this widespread irregular state when fasting with the saying of the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam, “So when it is the day of the fast of one of you, there is no sexual relations with one’s wife, nor behaving foolishly and impudently and if someone curses or fights with them, they should say, ‘I am fasting.’” [Muslim: 1151]. And this is because the fasting individual should have a tranquil soul, pleasing character, who put at the fore of their minds that fasting is a barrier for them against sin; against bad character; against disobedience; against idle speech and against evil talk and acting upon it.

And that which is befitting during this blessed month, if you pay heed to my advice, is that you adhere to your legislated way [Shariyyah] in your fasting – that you are moderate in your eating and drinking when breaking fast and at suhoor and that you dedicate your evenings, if you stay awake in the evenings, to reciting the Qur’aan and pondering over its meanings. And whosoever from you has the ability to stand in prayer, then they should do so. And that is that they pray what Allaah wills in their house or masjid. And this is the Salaati Taraaweeh, that has been changed from its original form. Those praying now flip speedily shortly after salaatil Ishaa, in a prayer that does not benefit, nor is accepted. The prayer is that which has humility and tranquillity in it and the more the person praying delays it till after the last third of the night, the better.

Then you should sleep that which Allaah wills you to sleep and then wake up before salaatil Fajr and eat a light meal for suhoor and then pray Fajr. Then, if you wish, you can sleep or begin going about your business and affairs.

As for those who eat just before going to bed and then wake until after the sun has risen, they have contravened the sunnah of Islaam with regards to the suhoor and I fear that their abandoning of the Fajr prayer will negate the reward they receive from their fast. So in reality, they have neither fasted, nor eaten. And Allaah has no need for them to leave their food and drink, as they have not followed His command, nor have they taken the sunnah of His prophet as they have purposefully left off Salatul Fajr in its correct time.

O respected people: The nations are presently melting in fire, as a punishment of that which they have disbelieved in from the favours of Allaah. And perhaps Allaah has protected the Islaamic states from much of that which afflicts other than them for a wisdom He knows and a great occurance He is saving for them – that He returns Islaam to its glory. That the Muslims are rulers of the world as they once were. However, this is if they are [true] Muslims, adhering to their religion, establishing His Shariyyah and seeking guidance by His guidance.

So seek lessons [from this] and fear your lord, for you may see those who dilute the Muslims with evil actions that I fear Allaah will blind them with punishment by reason of it. And you will see those outwardly declaring their evil deeds, not fearing Allaah or feeling shame from the people, or fearing the consequences of that which they do.

And from that which we see them doing, outwardly calling their lord to war, is their openly breaking fast in Ramadaan in the streets, public spaces and government buildings, claiming that they are seeking solace in that which they claim is freedom of the individual. But freedom is not like this and this is not how the nations should be in their adherence to their cultures and the manifest signs of their religion. This action harms the truthful Muslims in their consciousness and their hearts.

And Allaah has given success to the righteous one, the noble leader, he of the lofty rank, Mustapha an-Nuhaas, as he recently had a great book published in this regard, to preserve the nobility of the Muslims, ease their consciousness and lift the hurt from their hearts and ordered that none breaking fast in Ramadaan should openly declare their breaking of the fast – Muslim or non-Muslim – out of respect for this ummah’s right to adhere to the tenets of its faith and practices. His actions have been the actions of a man who knows what he wants and knows how to put matters in their rightful places.

Spread The Dawah:

One of Allaah’s Names is Al-Hakeem (The Most Wise). This name is given to one who is characterized with the attribute of Wisdom. Wisdom means: Treating affairs with accuracy and precision and putting them in their proper place. This name necessitates that everything that Allaah created and legislated is due to some profound wisdom – whoever knows about it, knows about it and whoever is unaware of it, is unaware of it.

Fasting, which Allaah has prescribed and obligated on His servants, has tremendous aspects of wisdom and numerous benefits.

From the wisdom behind fasting is that: It is an act of worship done for Allaah, in which the ‘abd (servant) draws closer to His Lord by abandoning the things that he loves and desires, such as food, drink and sexual intercourse. This is done in order to achieve His Lord’s Pleasure and success in the next life. By doing this, he shows outwardly that he has chosen what his Lord loves over what he loves, as well as the next life over this life. And from the wisdom behind fasting is that it is a means of attaining Taqwaa, as Allaah says:

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, in order that you gain Taqwaa.”
[Surah Al-Baqarah: 183]

So a fasting person is commanded to have Taqwaa of Allaah, which means obeying His orders and avoiding His prohibitions. This is the greatest goal behind fasting. The objective behind fasting is not to torture a person by having him abandon food, drink and sexual intercourse.

The Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Whoever does not abandon false speech, acting upon that (falsehood) and ignorance, then Allaah has no need of him abandoning his food and drink.”
[Reported by Al-Bukhaaree]

False speech refers to every forbidden type of speech such as lying, backbiting and slandering, as well as other prohibited acts. Acting upon falsehood refers to performing any type of forbidden act such as transgressing against people, betraying, deceiving, beating up people, taking money unjustly and so on. What also falls into this is listening to what is forbidden to listen to such as prohibited songs and musical instruments. Ignorance refers to foolishness, and that means not using the religious guidance in speech and action.

So when a fasting person abides by the requisites of this ayah and hadeeth, the fast becomes a means for him to cultivate his soul, correct his character and rectify his manners. And he will then not come out of the month of Ramadaan except that he finds that his soul, character and manners have been positively affected.

And from the wisdom behind fasting is that a person who has wealth is caused to realize the magnitude of Allaah’s blessing on him, such that Allaah made it easy for Him to achieve what he desires from food, drink, sexual intercourse and those things Allaah had permitted in the Religion. So because of this, he becomes grateful to his Lord for these blessings and remembers his destitute brother who is not able to achieve these things. And this will cause him to be generous with him, by giving him charity and showing kindness to him.

And from the wisdom behind fasting is that it trains one to curb and subject his soul, such that he is able to lead it towards that which is good for it and what will make it prosper in this world and the next. And he distances himself from becoming an animallike person who cannot control and restrain himself from fulfilling his yearns and desires.

And from the wisdom behind fasting are the health benefits that come as a result of intaking little food, allowing the digestive system to rest for a specified time, and allowing excess wastes and excrements that are harmful to the body to be discharged.

The Explanation Of The Fundamentals Of Islamic Belief

The Explanation Of The Fundamentals Of Islamic Belief: discusses the fundamentals of faith, by outlining and detailing the objectives of the Islamic ‘Aqeedah. Numerous references are made to the Qur’an and authentic Ahadith, for establishing the sincere intention and worship to Allaah, liberating the mind and thought from the irrational and chaotic losses, establishing peace of mind and sound thinking, safeguarding the intentions, learning to establish a strong Ummah (community), achieving happiness in this life and the hereafter, and more.

Pillars of Īman (Creed)
Belief in The God – Allah
Belief in the Angels
Belief in the Scriptures
Belief in the Messengers and Prophets
Belief in the Last Day and Resurrection
Belief in Qadar
Objectives of Islamic Belief and Creed

“And [God] enjoins upon you the fast. Verily, the similitude of that is a man carrying a sack-full of musk in a crowd of people, all of them marvelling at its fragrance—for the breath of someone fasting is more fragrant to God, Most High, than the scent of musk.” [Tirmidhi,Amthal, 2790; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 16542.]

The Prophet uses the image of someone carrying a sack-full of musk concealed from view, hidden under his garments, after the habit of those who carry musk. Fasting is, likewise, hidden from the eyes of men and unperceived by their senses.

The fasting person’s limbs fast from sins; his tongue fasts from lies, base language and false witness; his stomach fasts from food and drink; and his pudenda fast from union. If he speaks, he says nothing to violate his fast; and if he acts, he does nothing to spoil his fast. All his speech is salutary and wholesome, as are his deeds—like the fragrance one smells while sitting next to the bearer of musk. Anyone who sits with a fasting person benefits from his presence and is safe from false witness, lies, base language and wrongdoing. This is the fast prescribed by the Sacred Law, not simply abstinence from eating and drinking.

Hence, a sound hadih states:

“When someone does not refrain from speaking falsely and the action that springs from it and from ignorance, God does not need him to refrain from food and drink.” [Bukhari, Adab, 5597; Ibn Maja, Siyam, 1679; also in Bukhari, Sawm, 1770, without the word ‘ignorance’]

And in [another] hadith:

“Some who fast obtain nothing from it but hunger and thirst.” [Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 8501, with the ending ‘And some may stand for prayer at night and receive nothing from it but sleeplessness.’ Also in Bahyaqi, Shu`ab al-Iman, 3542, with ‘standing at night’ mentioned first.]

True fasting is when the limbs fast from sin and the stomach fasts from food and drink. As food and drink can break the fast or spoil it, so sins can cut off its reward and spoil its fruits, as if one had not fasted at all.